Page 85 of The Love Interest

He closes his lips and pulls back a little bit. His hands are on my hips, his fingers playing with the edge of my shirt. I breathe in, taking in some much-needed air.

“We’re out of time,” he says.

I want to say he’s wrong, but I know he’s right. Seconds are all I have, so I kiss him again. He kisses me back, but it’s different—lighter, hesitant. He closes his lips and rubs my arms.

“Caden?”

“Yeah?”

“We need to go.”

I clench my hand into a fist and tap it against the window. “Yep.”

I press my forehead against his.

“I’ll give you some time,” he says. “I’ll give you a couple minutes to find her, and then it’s game on. And hey, Caden?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m rooting for you.”

I close my eyes and press my forehead against his just a little bit harder. “I’m rooting for you too.”

I tap the glass one last time, then I take a step back. The air away from him feels cold, and I know why: I will never be that close to him again. That kiss was it for us. I want to say something to him, to tell him how much I wish I weren’t competing against him, or how much I want him to be my boyfriend. But I’ve already spent more time than I should’ve here, and he’s right. I can’t stay.

Somehow, I leave his room without looking back.

And the grand finale begins.

CHAPTER

TWENTY-FIVE

I step down off the staircase and scan the crowd for Juliet. I peer around a tall guy in a bad suit and spot her. She’s standing in front of the pool with her arms crossed. I stride over to her.

“Juliet!” I call as I open the pool gate. “There you are!”

She turns, faces me, and smiles the biggest smile I’ve ever seen on her.

“Caden!” she says. “I was looking for you! Where’d you go?”

“I was looking for you! I guess we just missed each other.”

“Huh. Anyway, I’m so glad I found you, because I have news. Dyl invited a bunch of scientists to this party. Or, his aunt did. Apparently she has a bunch of connections in the industry. This is, like, seriously life-changing stuff. If I can get one of them to even think about giving me an internship, this could affect the rest of my life. Seriously, Caden, this could be the start of my career. See, look, there!” She points to an Indian man standing beside the punch bowl. “That’s James Batra. He’s the son of Jairam Batra, and they both work at Harvard. Look at that, James freaking Batra at the same party as me.” She runs her fingers through her hair.

This is… unexpected. The scientists obviously mean that Dyl is still playing the game. Or maybe he isn’t? Maybe he just wanted to do one last nice thing for Juliet? That’s totally something he’d do. But why didn’t he tell me? No, he’d have told me if he were just being kind, so he’s still competing. I can’t be mad, I told him to keep fighting after all, but I guess I just didn’t expect him to try this hard.

“Should I talk to him?” asks Juliet. I blink, then realize she’s talking about the scientist. “I don’t want to seem overeager or anything, even though I am. What should I do, Caden?”

“Be yourself. It’s enough.”

Her gaze softens. “You’re amazing, you know that, right? This incredible thing is happening to me and the first thing I wanted to do was tell you about it. I know we haven’t defined our relationship, but I like you a lot, and…”

Kiss her now! She wants you to!

I…

Kiss her right now! I’m not asking, Caden.